Wall construction



Oct. 7, 1941. M. .v LEARY WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 6, 1959 ATTORNEYPatented Oct. 7, 1941 '1 UNITED STTES PATENT OFFICE WALL CONSTRUCTIONMarshall L. Leary, Columbus, Ga. Application January 6, 1939, Serial No.249,545 5 Claims. (01. 72118) This invention relates to wallconstructions especially to wall constructions utilizing a plasterreceiving base such as plasterboard or plaster lath. The inventionparticularly relates to such constructions utilizing a plaster receivingbase supported on studs by means of a device fastened to the studs andengaging the edge of the plaster receiving base or plaster board.

. Many devices and constructions have been proposed in which a plasterreceiving base such as a plaster lath or plaster board is supported uponthe frame of the wall, usually constructed with studs and ceilingjoists. In many of these constructions a clip of metal is fastened tothe stud or the joist in such away that the board or lath may be held inplace by the bearing of a portion of the clip upon the outer face of theboard or lath. Some of the devices utilized have been formed so that theboard may be slipped into place after the device has been fastened tothe supporting stud or joist. In some cases such devices also have beenused to engage the meeting edges of two adjacent lath or boards or othertypes of panels without being fastened to a support, the panels beingfastened at other points, such as to intermediate studs or joists, as bynailing.

In such prior devices and constructions certain disadvantages andinconveniences in handling and erection have been experienced. In partthese have been due to the particular method of fastening or the designand arrangement of the device in relation to the supporting stud orjoist. Moreover, it has not been thoroughly realized in the prior artdevices and constructions that the primary purpose for which they areintended, namely, the prevention of cracks in the plaster which isapplied to the plaster base or plaster board or lath, cannot be attainedunless movement of the supporting structure is provided for withouttransmission of said movement to the plaster receiving base and theplaster facing. The principal cause of such cracks, contrary to theconception of some or notrealized by others of the prior inventors, isthe movement of this supporting frame rather than the movement oftherelatively rigid and fixed plaster surfacing and its base, that is,movement of the studs or ceiling joists caused by drying thereof andcontraction or expansion or settling thereof which causes strain to comeupon the plaster facing if rigidly fastened thereto. If the support ofthe plaster receiving base can be accomplished with such lack ofrigidity of fastening to the stud or joist as to allow for movement ofthe stud or beam relative to the completed combined plaster base and itsfacing without transmitting thereto the moving force, then cracking ofthe plaster facing over the joints between the abutted plaster boards orother base sheets. or panelswill be prevented or greatly minimized.

In some of the prior art devices which-have attempted to bring aboutthis condition movement of the stud or joist has been permitted by arather stiif though resilient spring member fastened to the stud orjoist at the outer part of which spring member is attached a clip ordevice for engaging the edge or edges of the panels. In

most of the prior art devices, however, such'a somewhatresilientconnection between the clip and the stud or joist is absent assuch devices become complicatedand difficult of attachment. Moreover,the position of such fastening devices must be predetermined upon thestud in order that the clip portions, that is, fingers or other portionsof the device which engage the edges of the abutting plasterboard orlath, shall become correctly positioned to receive these plaster boardsor lath for proper constructionof-the wall with these boards or lath insubstantially abutting relation when the other end of the spring memberis fastened to the stud or joist. .Other devices of the prior art havebeen attached rigidly to the stud or beam and either held by friction ofa'fastening nail or in most caseswith the nail driven through the deviceand through the edges of the plaster board or lath itself. When the lastmentioned condition obtains there is no,opportunity for movement of thestud or joist to take place relative to the plaster and relative to theplaster coating carried on the face of said base. Theresult is thatcracking is not prevented. In certain of the prior art devices, also,friction of the plaster board or lath or other base sheetagainst theface of the stud or joist has not been eliminated, in fact, has beenrelied upon to hold the board in place, the clip or fastening devicebearing on the outer face to hold the board against the stud or joist. I

In the applicants invention a feature of certain devices of the priorart is retained, namely, that fingers or flanges are provided in theclip between which the edges of a plaster board or lath may be slipped.The device or clip of the invention is made of thin material, forexample of sheet metal, so that conveniently these fingers may projectfrom a supporting Web, which supporting web is of such limited thicknessas not to require substantial separation of the abutting edges of theplaster boards or lath engaged thereby and between the edges of whichthe Web of the device is positioned. Thus plaster boards or plaster lathof normal or standard size may be used without trimming and may beerected with their meeting edges lapped properly upon a stud or joistwithout interference occurring because of the presence of the device.The boards need not be separated a greater distance than is usual andthis 'separationdoes not therefore accumulate in a series of boardsextending across the wall. The result of such accumulation of edgeseparation in a series of boards across the Wall or ceiling surface,namely, that at some studs or joists some boards cannot '-:be lappedupon the stud or joist .forsupport of their edges, is avoided.

The applicants invention further provides :for fastening of the deviceor clip by means of an ordinary fastener, such as a "nail, driventherethrough into "the stud or-ceiling joist. Because with the device ofthe invention it ispossible to drive the nail directly into the outer oredge face of the stud or joist, erection of the plaster boards or lathis greatly facilitated and more easily carried out than with priordevices, particularly at the ceilings where the securing -of any suchdevice is more difficult because it is necessary to work overhead.Nevertheless in the applicant's 'devicet'he necessary flexibility ofengagement with the supporting stud or joist referred to above isaccomplished. The device may 'be placed in proper position without thenecessity of making measurements for position or allowances to insurethat the flanges which "are to engage the edges of the plasterboard orlath will 'be in correct position ready to receive these boards or lath.Moreover, the nail may be driven directly in its position so that itwill lie "between the meeting I edges *of these boards or lath. A hailof ordinary size'but having no great diameter to occupy space betweenthe edges of the boards may be used and =the thickness of this nail plusthe thickness of the web of the clip will not take npso much space as tocause excessive separation of the panels or boards. The accumulativeeffect of this "spacing, referred to above, therefore is not experiencedin constructions utilizing the applicants 'dev'ice.

in simple form the applicants device consists of a web having a pair offlanges extending genorally in the same direction at right angles to theplane of the web. One of "these flanges is intended "to bear flat uponthe outer or front face of the s'tu'd or ceiling joist which is parallelto the face of the wall and the other flange is intended to bear or lapupon the outer face of the panel of plaster board or lath insertedbetween the flanges with an edge thereof closely ad'zjaoent the web. Inboth flanges of the device are formed holes in general alignment witheach other perpendicular to the flanges. Through these holes thefastening nail is passed. The :hole in the outer flange is of sufficientsize to pass the nail with only slight clearance so that the head of thenail is prevented from passing .therethrough and hears upon the flangesurface. "The hole in the flange which is to bear upon the face of the:stud is substantially larger than :the shank of the nail so as toprovide clearance andprevent contact :of :the mail with the material ofthis 'rflange, time to provide ior a substantial movement of the :studrelative to this .flange.

.In a practical embodiment -.of the device-of the invention the hole inthe outer flange may be, for example, between and diameter to receive anail of common size. A hole of diameter would conveniently receive a 4d. nail. The length of the nail for ordinary lath and plaster boardwould be 1 The hole in the flange which bears upon the stud or ceilingjoist may be, for example 2 to in diameter. If the hole in this flangeis it will be clear that with a 4 d. nail having a diameter of .09375 amovement of the stud relative to the plaster faced base materials ofapproximately may take :place without any strain coming upon the plasterfacing. .Not only may the stud move with the nail pivoting substantiallyat its head and bearing in 'the outer flange at the hole therein but nostrain will come upon the clip for transmission to the base or to theplaster facing until the nail has touched the edge of the large hole atthe inner flange. Even thereafter for further limited movement there maybe no substantial strain placed upon the base and its facing because ofthe flexing which may take place in the metal of the web andin the nail.The outer flange of the applicants device substantially is embeddedrigidly in the plaster facing which is applied over this flange andbecomes bonded to the supporting plaster board or lath. Without breakageor cracking no substantial movement of the clip relative to the base orrelative the facing therefore can take place as regards this outerflange. Some movement-of the inner'flange of the clip may take placerelative to the plaster base and the facing thereon because of theflexing of the metal as just referred to. It also will be understoodthat, as the plaster base or plaster board or lath has its edgebetweenthe two flanges of the clip, it does not bear upon the face of the studor joist and, "therefore, no friction of the inner face of the plasterbase sheets 'upon the face of the stud or joist occurs which willprevent movement of the stud or beam relative to these base sheets.Great flexibility therefore is accomplished with a simple device which,as stated above, may be erected in position without calculation ormeasurement ready for the panels or lath to be slipped between theflanges thereof.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the description tofollow taking into consideration the drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows anillustration of the clip of the invention,

Fig. 2 shows a modification of this clip for a boundary edge of the wallconstruction,

Fig. 3 shows a further modification for engagement of panels meetingatra corner of a room,

Fig. 4 shows a clip embodying a further feature of the invention,

Fig. '5 shows a wall construction utilizing the :devices of theinvention,

Fig. 6 shows in section the wall construction utilizing the clip of theinvention.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated a clip I having flanges 2 and 3 of generallyrectangular shape extending from the web 5 in a plane generally at rightangles to the plane of the web 5. A flange 1 also extends at rightangles to the plane of the Web 5 and .in the particular embodimentillustrated in Fig. 1 this flange 1 is substantially of the same planeas the plane of the flanges 2 and 3. As will be "seen from Fig. 1,flange .2 and 3 are spaced apart in their plane and the flange 1 extendsfrom the web 5 at the portion thereof which is between the region atwhich the flanges .2 and 3 join said web 5. Similarly, from the oppositeedge of said web extend flanges 8 and 9, having their outer ends curvedor bent outwardly from the plane in which said flanges 8 and 9 are incommon positioned. Said flanges 8 and 9 are spaced apart in said planeand from the portion of the web 5 between the points at which flanges 8and 9 join the web 5, flange II extends in the opposite direction,although substantially in the plane of said flanges 8 and 9. The outerend of said flange ll likewise is curved or bent slightly out of theplane of said flange I I.

It will be apparent from Fig. 1 and the above description thereof thatthe clip there shown may be made of sheet metal or other sheet materialcapable of retaining its form when bent or formed. The flanges 2 and 3may be bent at right angles in one direction from the web 5 and the web7 may be bent in the opposite direction, these flanges being separatedfrom each other in the initial sheet by cutting or slitting therethroughalong lines forming the edges l3 and I4 and edges l5 and I 6 of saidflanges. Similarly, the flanges 8, 9 and H may be cut by cuts or slitsin the sheet along lines forming edges l1 and I8 and edges l9 and 20,the flange H being bent in opposite directions to the flanges 8 and 9.The clip of the invention, as illustrated in Fig. 1, when made ofmaterial such as sheet metal, may be produced by means of a suitableforming die to cause the flanges to be bent relative to the web 5 and tobring them into the relation described.

In order to accomplish the fastening of the clip to the stud or ceilingjoist in the manner which has been described above, and to insure theadvantages in the wall construction which have been referred to, theflange II is provided with a hole 2! positioned close tothe web 5.Through the flange I and close to the web 5 and in position to be ingeneral alignment with the hole 2| is drilled or formed a hole 23 forreceiving a nail passing through said hole 2|. The alignment of theseholes is such that the nail passing therethrough is in a positiongenerally normal to the planes in which the flanges lie and to the faceof the stud or beam into which said nail is to be driven. As willbe seenfrom Fig. 6 the hole 23 may be drilled through the flange 1 of theclipso that its edge substantially is at the face of the web 5. The hole2| may be drilled substantially upon the same axis as the hole 23 andthe nail 25 may be set through these holes and driven directly into thestud or beam 26. As will be apparent from Fig. 6, the flange 1 and theflanges 2 and 3, being flat, will bear against the face of the stud orjoist 26. The flange H and the flanges 8 and 9, bear upon the face 28 ofthe plaster board or base 29, bein curved or bent out slightly at theirends, so that this board readily may be slipped between the flanges IIand 1 or between the flanges 8 and 2 and between flanges 9 and 3. Itwill be clear that the plaster boards 23 do not bear upon the face ofthe stud or joist 26 but are spaced slightly therefrom by virtue of theinterposition of the flanges 1, 2 and 3. As the flanges ll, 8 and 9 aswell as the nailhead 33 become embedded in the plaster coat 3|, and asthe coating 3| adheres strongly to the plaster base 29, that is to itsouter cover 35, the clip I and the nailhead 33, together with theplaster board or base 29 and the plaster coating 3| thereon, are firmlygripped and bonded together so that movement of the plaster boards or ofthe nailhead or the clip relative to each other substantially isimpossible, except by cracking of the plaster or shearing of the paperor other portion of this construction.

While the hole 2| is made only large enough to receive the nail 25 sothat it may just pass easily therethrough, the nailhead 33 limiting themovement of the nail through the hole, the hole 23 is made substantiallylarger than the shank of the nail 25. This shank of the nail beingfirmly embedded in the stud or joist 26 must move with said stud orjoist. As no bearing upon the face of the stud or joist exists exceptthat of the flanges 1, 2 and 3, movement of said stud or joist caused bycontraction or expansion or by settlement or drying out of the lumber orfor other reason may take place without bringing destructive force uponthe plaster coating and the portions which are gripped thereby andbonded thereto, as mentioned above. Movement of the stud 26 and theshank portion of the nail 25 may take place because the shank of thenail has room for such movement in the hole 23. As the nail is notdriven through the plaster board or base but passes between the edgesthereof, no resistance is given to this movement and no strain isbrought upon the plaster boards nor on the clips supporting these boardswhich may be transmitted to the plaster coating to cause cracks. Theinvention thus provides a flexible but strong wall constructionutilizing a plaster lath or other type of plaster receiving base panel.

It also will be apparent from Fig. 6 that the edges of the plasterboards 23 are brought into close proximity, there being interposedbetween these edges only the thickness of the web 5 and the shank of thenail 25, with slight clearance between the nail and the web. Moreover,without interfering with the action described, Sllglll; crushing of thepaper or even of the plaster core of the plaster boards 29' might takeplace at the point Where the edges of these boards bear on the nails 25.It thus becomes possible, as has been referred to above, to erect theplaster boards of ordinary dimensions on the stud and ceiling joists atordinary spacings, without trimming and Without causing the spacebetween the boards to accumulate to the extent that at some portion ofthe wall the edges of the-two boards will not properly meet on the studor joist;

In Fig. 2 is shown a clip mil intended for use at the boundary of a wallconstruction, for example, at the base or floor. This clip, as will benoted, has flanges 2 and 3 and 8 and 9 corresponding to these flanges inthe clip of Fig. 1. As in Fig. 1, these flanges extend from web 5 atright angles thereto. The clip 850, however, is not provided withflanges i and H because at the boundaries of the wall construction, asmay be seen in Fig. 5, these flanges l and H are not required, becausethere is no panel or plaster to be engaged thereby.

The clip me of Fig. 2, however, is provided with portions (H and 42which substantially are in the same plane respectiveiy' as the flanges 8and 9 and the flanges 2 and 3. In the portion 4| is drilled the hole Fitto receive the nail, as in the clip 5 of Fig. 1. In the portion 42 isdrilled hole 23, as in Fig. 1. It will be apparent from the descriptiongiven in connection with clip of Fig. 1 that these holes may bepositioned with respect to the web 5 and function in the manner in whichthey do in clip i of Fig. 1, for receiving the nail and for permittingmotion of the shank of the nail and of the stud or ceiling joist Withrespect tothe completed plaster and plaster base construction.

In 3 isshowh a "clip 2%!) intended to be used at the cor-nersof aroom'and at the ceiling. In Fig. this type ,of clip is illustrated atthe joint which is formed between the plaster boards attached to thewall and those attached to the ceiling. This clip has flanges '2 and 3and -8 and 9 extending from the web 5 as in the clip 1 of Fig.1.Corresponding to the flange 13 of the clip I is flange 45., extending inthe same plane as flanges 2 and 3 but with portion 4! bent at rightangles to portion and so as to be generally parallel to'tlre web 5.Instead of having a flange extending generally in the same plane asflanges 3 and -9as does flange H in Fig. 1, in the clip 20-9 of Fig. 3the -flange'4-9 extends in the plane of the web 5, and generallyparallel to the portion 4'. of the flange 46. It will be apparent fromconsideration of Fig.3 and the assembled construction illustrated inFig. 5 that the plaster boards attached to the side wall may be eengaged between the clips 2 and 8 and between clips '3. and B. Theportion 4! of the flange 46 may engage theirear sur 'face of the plasterboards attached to the ceiling, the flange 49 engaging the outer 'facethereof.

In the erection of plaster boards and lath 'or similar panels it iscommon practice to erect these boards-or panels on the ceiling of theroom before erecting them on the side walls. The clip Zilll illustratedin Fig. '3 may be slipped over the edges of the plaster boards appliedat the ceiling at the place where the boards meet the side wall. Thusthe clip may be carried by the ceiling board and be properly positionedwhile the plaster boards or panels to be erected on a side wall at thetop thereof and adjacent the ceiling are slipped up between flanges 8and 9 and flanges 2 and 3. The plaster boards or panels may then beattached to the studding on the side walls and the construction mayproceed with the erection of other panels successively below the topcourse of panels on the side walls. It will be seen from thisdescription that it is unnecessary in the use of the clip 2'00 of Fig. 3to provide for nailing thereof to the ceiling beams or to the studs. Theclip affords a means of bringing the edges of the plaster boards orpanels on the ceiling in co-operative relation "with the edges of theplaster boards or panels on the side walls to hold these boards inproper relation to receive the plaster coating. The plaster coating 3|applied over thesecorner clips gripsthe flanges 8, 9 and 49 and togetherwith the bond to the plaster board or base acts to hold the base withits coating rigidly together about this corner. As no attachment to thesupporting frame is necessary any movement of the supporting frame isnot transmitted to the plaster coating and to the plaster receiving baseprovided by the plaster boards or panels. Cracking, therefore, of theplaster coating is reduced or eliminated.

If desired, the clip 2-00 of Fig. 3, however, may be otherwisepositioned and so that the flanges 41 and 49 engage the panels erectedon the side wall, with the flanges 8 and 2 and 9 and 3 engaging theedges of the panels or boards erected on the ceiling. In this case alsono attachment of the clip to the studdin'g or ceiling beams isnecessary. The position as illustrated in Fig. 3, however, has theadvantage that the edgesof the ceiling panels or boards rest upon andare supported by the side wall panels or boards.

In Fig. 4 is shown a modification of the corner clip of the typeillustrated in Fig. 3. In the clip 3% of Fig. 3 flanges 2, 3, 8, 9, 46,41 and 49 extend from the web 5 in the same manner as in 3'. Inaddition, in the particular embodiment of Fig. 4, clip 300 has anadditional flange 5] with a portion thereof 52 formed to extend parallelto the web 5 as does the portion 41 of the flange 46. There also isprovided an additional flange 54, similar to flange 49, extending in theplane of the web .5 and generally parallel to the flange 49.

A feature of the invention embodied in the clip Sil'il of Fig. 4 is thatprovided by the fingers 60 which are formed in flanges '8, 9, 49 and 54,these flanges being those which will bear upon the outer face of thepanel or plaster board or base. The fingers 60 may be formed by suitablycutting or slitting the material of the flanges '8, 9, 49 and 54 andbending the tongue or finger thereby formed outwardly as shown in Fig.4, with the end portion 62 thereof bent over so as to be in angular oreven normal relation to the plane of the flanges. It will be apparentthat the plaster boards or panels may be inserted between the flanges,as in the manner descrbed, and that the fingers 65 will be positionedoutwardly of the outer faces of these plaster boards or panels. Afterthe boards or panels are in place, and particularly with penetrablematerial such as gypsum plaster board or other common wall boards orplaster base panels, the fingers then may be caused to enter the plasterboard or panel, for example, by striking the finger with a hammer tocause the 'end thereof to puncture the upper cover sheet of the plasterboard and to enter the core material.

There is thus secured the grip or anchoring of the clip .300 itself tothe plaster board or base so that when the plaster coating is appliedthereto the coating and the base to which it adheres as well as the clipare strongly held together in rigid relation. As the clip of Fig. 4,similarly to the clip of Fig. 3, is not attached to the studding orceiling beams, movement of this studding or beams with respect to theclip may take place without transmitting any destructive force to theplaster board and the plaster coating carried thereby. It will beapparent, as openings are formed in the respective flanges by virtue offorming these fingers 62, that the plaster to some extent may enter thespace thus provided and assist, in the grip and anchorage .of thecoating thereto. I

From the above description and a consideration of Fig. 5 it will beapparent that the clips of the several types may be applied to studdingand to ceiling joists to fasten the wall construction to the frameworkand to secure together the corners of the wall and of the wall andceiling construction. The flanges 8 and 9, cooperating with flanges 2and 3,, make possible the engagement of two abutting edges of adjacentpanels or boards. In view of the staggering of the joints, as shown inFig. '5, a single pair of flanges ll and [3 at the same time may engagethe edge of the panel or board 'in the next course. Considerableflexibility inthe use of the clips is possible while at the same timeobtaining secure fastening of the clip to the-framework and strongsupport for the plaster facing and its base, together with provision formovement, settlement or deflection of the studs or c'eilingbeams of theframework without transmitting the destructive forces of such movementto said facing and base.

Having thus described my invention I now claim:

1..A 'clip for .a wall construction composed of structural members andwall boards to be supported thereby which comprises a pair of flangeslike-extending from a Web, said flanges being spaced apart a distancesufficient for the edge portion of a wallboard to be placedtherebetween, said clip being provided with a hole in each flangeadjacent said web and having the axes thereof in substantial alignmentand extending in the direction transverse to the flanges, the hole inone of said flanges being substantially larger than the other hole inthe other flange.

2. A clip for supporting plasterboards which comprises a piece of sheetmetal cut and bent to form flanges like-extending from a web portion,

a hole in one of said flanges adjacent said web and a hole in the otherflange adjacent said web and in general alignment with said first holeto position a nail passing through said holes transversely of the planesof said flanges, the hole in one of said flanges being substantiallylarger than the other to provide clearance with respect to the shank ofsaid nail.

3. A Wall construction comprising a structural member, a plasterboardpositioned with its edge lapped upon said structural member, a clipformed with a web, a pair of flanges like-extending from said web andpositioned with one of said flanges bearing upon the face surface ofsaid structural member which is parallel to the face of the wall, saidplasterboard being positioned with its edge portion between said flangesand spaced from said web, and a fastener passing through said flangesand into said face of said member but not passing through theplasterboard to hold said clip against said face of said member and tohold said plasterboard in the plane of the wall.

4. A wall construction comprising a stud or a ceiling beam, a clipfastened to said stud or said ceiling beam, said clip being formed witha web, a pair of flanges extending from said web generally in thedirection parallel to the face of the wall or ceiling and with one ofsaid flanges bearing upon the face surface of a stud or ceiling beamwhich is parallel to the face of the wall or ceiling, a plasterboardpositioned with its edge between said flanges and spaced from said weband lapped upon the stud or ceiling beam, and a nail passing throughsaid flanges but not through the plaster board and driven into said faceof said stud or ceiling beam to hold said clip against said face of saidstud or beam and to support said plasterboard on the wall or ceiling,said clip having the flange thereof which bears upon the face of thestud or ceiling beam formed so as to provide clearance between said nailand the material of said flange, whereby substantial movement of thestud and nail relative to said flange in the direction parallel to theface of the stud or beam may take place Without contact of the nail withthe material of the clip.

5. A wall or ceiling construction comprising a stud or ceiling beam, aclip formed with a web and flanges extending generally perpendicular tosaid web, said clip being positioned with one of said flanges bearingupon the face of said stud or ceiling beam which is parallel to the faceof the wall or ceiling, said clip being provided with a hole in theother flange which is large enough to receive a nail passingtherethrough but to prevent the head of the nail from passingtherethrough, said clip in the flange bearing upon the stud or ceilingbeam being provided with a hole which is larger than the shank of saidnail to provide clearance between the material of the clip and saidshank, said nail being driven through said holes into said stud orceiling beam, a wallboard positioned with its edges inserted between theflanges of said clip and spaced from said web and lapped upon said studor ceiling beam, and a facing of plastic material in set conditioncovering the face of said wallboard and covering the outer flange ofsaid clip and the head of said nail and substantially rigidly bondingsaidouter flange to said wallboard, said stud or ceiling beam and theshank of said nail being free for movement of said stud or beam withrespect to said clip.

MARSHALL L. LEARY.

